ABSTRACT
The emergence of a strong peasant movement in Bihar was basically a reaction to the pressures of a harsh agrarian system heightened by the ill-effects of economic depression. The response to these pressures took the organized form of the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS) under the influence of unique leadership and the political ferment which characterized the 1930s. This leadership was the product of Gandhian nationalism, but increasingly, as it became disillusioned with Gandhian concepts and methods as adequate for achieving political and economic objectives, the leadership moved to the left, creating a class-oriented peasant movement. The BPKS was first organized late in 1929 in a meeting at the Sonepur Mela in Saran district. The Bihar Congress undertook an inquiry into agrarian conditions to allay prospective peasant discontent. The beginnings of such a class-oriented peasant movement were apparent in Gaya in the late months of 1931 under the leadership of Jadunandan Sharma.
